HAWKS James and lily
by gimmi
Summary: another JL flick...their story of seventh year at hogwarts...Lily is seeing someone else..James is crazy abt her...see what happens..
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1…HEAD-BUTT**

The dining hall was brimming with the new and the old faces. It had been six years since they first set foot on the Hogwarts' soil. This year was their last and they hoped to make the most out of it. Lily hoped to keep up her reputation and do great things within these grounds whereas James was pressed upon getting Lily to be his girl and of course keeping up with the marauder adventures and making them more and more _adventurous._

The students were making a lot of noise, just then Dumbledore's voice interrupted, "I welcome all the new faces to Hogwarts and hope that the older ones become a little more sincere," his gaze settled on the marauders for a fraction of a second and then he continued," we are proud to announce that this year Hogwarts is hosting the '_HAWKS…Highly Advanced Wizard Knock-outs'. _This is an inter-year competition. Each team will consist of two members. The eliminations will take place at the end of this month. The team wining this cup will go down in the history of Hogwarts as the most daring and the most talented team of the school. But mind you that this challenge is not for the weak hearted so we have decided an age limit of fifteen years and above."

There were a lot of protests from the younger ones but Dumbledore continued," I request Ms. Lily Evans and Mr. James Potter to meet me in my office after dinner and in the meanwhile, tuck in," he said with a small smile appearing on his lips.

"So why do you think headmaster has called us both?" Lily asked Alice, her best friend.

"Dunno… Hmmm….. Is there any chance that he might be interested in making the two of you call a truce? It will be a good move considering the ruckus you two create to outdo the other when it comes to pranks," she said with a smile.

"I and Potter call a truce!! You must be dreaming Alice." said Lily

"Or maybe he is the new Head Boy. Just the perfect company for you." she chuckled looking at Lily's exasperated face.

"Oh please don't wish me such an evil. Oh! I am late." She looked at her watch and ran.

"Hey so you gotta chance to be with her on the first day of school. Good for you mate." said Sirius to James pushing his silky hair back in style.

He used to do this a lot as it made the other gender gasp for breath. He was a really handsome guy and used his God gift to full capacity.

"I know." said James with a smile while staring at the redhead.

"Thinking of a prank on her already."

"prank… oh yeah.. prank...just the perfect one to knock her off the very first day," he said with a smile not quite reaching his eyes.

"You don't fancy her do you?" asked Sirius with his eyebrows raised.

"Oh no. Cmon. Me and Evans…that _rules-are-meant-for-our-own-good-Potter _Evans..You must be dreaming."

Lupin looked up but didn't say anything.

"She is just the perfect one to play pranks on. No one gets more irritated than her." James laughed as he said this, "Anyways she doesn't like me. In fact she hates me to be more precise." he added.

"Then why do you keep asking her out?" asked Sirius. This time Lupin paid attention.

"Well.. she is the hottest witch in our year. There's no denying that fact. Plus she is the only one who has ever turned me down." He said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Cmon, you are a Marauder and we are the coolest people in school. She will come around. She can't be stuck with that arseface Ralph for long. He is just not her type."

"…"

"Trust me."

James wanted to trust him but Sirius logic was never to be paid attention to.

James bade good bye to his friends and headed for the Headmaster's office.

"Password" asked the portrait.

"Acid Pops" came a familiar voice from behind. James turned and saw Lily holding a notebook in her hand looking very flushed, her cheeks matching her hair colour. She had been running.

"Hey Evans I was wondering if you..."

"No. I am not interested and will never be." Lily cut him off before he could finish.

"So that's a no then" muttered James.

The gargoyle flew open and they entered.

"Good evening you two. I hope the summer went well for both of you." smiled Dumbledore.

They nodded in approval.

"Well I hope you already know that the two of you are the Head Boy and the Head Girl."

Lily looked flabbergasted whereas James had his Christmas come early.

Dumbledore noticed the reactions and continued. "Well now you know."

Lily looked at James with utter shock and James glanced at her not believing his luck. His inner soul sending thousands of thank you's to the headmaster.

Dumbledore seemed to notice this and said," I hope you both know your duties as Heads but there is one thing I would like to tell you. Behave. Mr. Potter now that you are the Head Boy I expect some decent behavior from you and Ms. Evans, take care of him. Good night and all the best."

They both left the room.

Suddenly James cried, "Hey Evans wanna go for… "

"How many times do I have to say NO Potter" shouted Lily.

"Relax I was just asking for the rounds as Heads. What did you think??..." he chuckled looking at her embarrassed face.

"Oh yeah... I forgot. Let's go."

James asked her out fifteen times during that one hour of rounds. Lily just could not believe her bad luck. She did not even look at him throughout their rounds. She was angry was to say the very least.

This year was supposed to be different but not this way where she had to spend the nights ( just one hour though… still it was bad) with the shit face Potter asking her out every ten seconds. Life could not have been worse, she thought.

James entered the Gryffindor common room clearly very happy with himself. He had spent one full hour with her that too at night. And this was not for just one day. It was going to happen every night. If God was there he was definitely on his side.

He informed his Marauder fellows of his fortune and then left for his Head dorm.

He told the password- Faith- and entered the common room. He was left speechless.

It was nothing like he had ever seen before which was a lot to say for he was a pureblood. The walls were draped in red and golden, Gryffindor colors. The little fairy lights had the whole room filled with mystic golden light. The night sky was mesmerizing as he looked through the enchanted ceiling.

He glanced at the sofa and saw a dark figure. It was Lily. He moved up to her and saw her sleeping peacefully with a book in her hand.

He could not help but admire the way she was lying on the sofa with her head slightly off the headrest and red curls placed softly on her cheek making her look like a cute angel.

He stood there for a while and then left for his room not disturbing her. When the door clicked, Lily opened her eyes. She was not sleeping and was aware of Potter's presence a while ago. She couldn't help believing that Potter left without saying anything to her_, not that she missed it.. but still.. it wasn't very Potter-like_, or without playing a prank while she was sleeping, she must be very very vulnerable at that time or without even asking her out. Strange.

She stopped thinking about these and went to her room. She was up for a lot tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2…The Clever Potter**

Lily was sleeping soundly on her bed. Suddenly she heard she heard the bed creak.

"Alice. Just five more minutes and I'll be up. Promise." And she slept again. Then she thought that Alice didn't have the Head dorm password. Then with a bang she realized and opened her eyes. " AARRRRRGHHHHHHHHH…… POTTER GET OFF MY BED."

"what are you doing here." She shouted at the top of her voice.

To say James was surprised was an understatement. He had never seen Lily go so wild, just when two seconds before she was looking like a peaceful angel.

"I had come to wake you up for the meeting with Dumbledore." James answered slightly scared.

_Scared… its just Evans.. she can't hurt a fly…_

"So you could have knocked. Who gave you the permission to enter my room. Out." She was getting madder every second and James considered leaving that room at the earliest to be in the best of health for him if he didn't want to get cursed at the very early morning.

He got up to leave but then suddenly took a u-turn, gave a fleeting kiss on her cheek and before closing the door behind him said "Relax Evans. One day you yourself will invite me to this room and I promise not to enter until that happens." and then Lily heard the door knob click. He was gone.

Lily got up to get ready.

She entered the dining hall and went straight to Alice without once looking at James.

She was telling Alice about her morning experience then a hand covered her eyes from behind and he gave a full kiss on her lips. Lily smiled and lowered his hand to look at him and said, "I missed you Ralph."

"I missed you too love." He kissed her again and sat besides her. James was looking at both of them from the corner of his eye.

Lily and Ralph, though not a very hot couple looked really cute together. He was an ideal boyfriend. He used to bring her flowers every evening, held her hand when they walked together, wrote sweet love letters to her, used to do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and above all he was there for her every time she needed him.

He was everything a teenage girl would want his prince charming to be. Their relation was not a casual school fling. It was something really beautiful. Something that they both prized and cherished.

Lily was really happy with him. And James was not.

Both of them got up and headed for the Headmaster's office. James told the password and they both entered.

"Don't you think you are a little late kids." Dumbledore chuckled, "I am sure Mr. Potter might have to say something."

James opened his mouth to say something but Lily cut him in between and said, "Well actually sir, it was me who got up late. Potter actually came to wake me up." said Lily clearly very ashamed of herself.

"Hmmm.. I think that's a first for Mr. Potter. Getting up early is clearly a good sign towards understanding your duties."

James did not know what to say. It was the first time Lily had taken his side. Though not exactly his side, she had just said the truth. But he wanted to believe that she had said this for him. She could have very easily lied and blamed him for it. It wouldn't have been difficult to believe too. But she didn't. Today was going to be a good day.

He just nodded.

"Well sit down both of you."

Both of them sat and looked up at Dumbledore.

"As all of you know about the HAWKS, I would like both of you to plan everything and carefully assess what all is needed. I want this fest to be the best for all generations to come. I hope you understand." he looked at both of them and they nodded in approval.

He continued, "Ok, so I hope to see some progress by the end of this week. Meet me in the evening. Good bye."

They got up and left for the class.

McGonagall was teaching animal transfiguration today. Potter was really good at transfiguration, rather the best at it in class. The only subject where Lily lagged behind him and she did not like it. Though Defence Against Dark arts was also pretty much his domain than it was Lily's.

"Class, animal transfiguration is a very complex form of magic and I do not expect you to produce excellent results just at the first few attempts but I would like you to work hard towards it. It's really important from the NEWTs point of view. So lets begin. All of you form pairs." Minerva announced.

There were a few hushing sounds and the whole class was divided in pairs. Lily was paired with Ralph, James with Sirius and Alice with Frank.

After a lot of futile attempts and a number of whoosh sounds James succeeded in transforming his rat into a dog. In fact he was the first one to do this. Ralph was not looking interested in the class hence was not trying hard. Lily was also having problems achieving the desired.

"Very well Mr. Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor." Exclaimed McGonagall.

Watching Lily struggling with the wand and Ralph quite not paying attention she said, "Mr. Potter can u help Ms. Evans with the exercise and Mr. Ralph pair up with Mr. Black and pay some attention."

James went to her side and started teaching her how to do it.

"Place your wand like this in your hand, move your wrist anticlockwise, and say _rodentocaninous_."

Lily tried it twice but did not succeed. Then James stood behind her, took her arm and then moved her arm in the same fashion and transfigured the rat. He could feel Lily's back pressing on his chest and her short breaths tensing the air around him. He suddenly left her arm and went back to his seat, his hormones were running wild.

Lily was slightly surprised at his reaction. He was a really good teacher and of course handsome, she wondered. Had he been a little more sensible and not irritate her so much she might even like him.

_Like him…. Are you going insane Lily… its Potter… you can't possibly like him._

She shuddered at these emotions and started concentrating on the class.

The class got over and she went straight to her dorm.

Meanwhile James was talking to his Marauder mates.

"So how was she?" Sirius asked James.

"Hmmm…. She smelled good." And started laughing. "How was her ultra-gay boy friend? You must have had a good time making him pay attention Padfoot." he asked mockingly.

"Don't ask. He is the dumbest jackass I have ever seen. God only knows how Evans tolerates him. I mean she is so smart n all." He shrugged.

James' spirits soared a little and Lupin seemed to notice this.

"May be it's her little game." Said Lupin. It was his first proof of interest in James' not-so-good love life.

They both looked at him.

_Game…_

"I mean the girls have this thing. They can't go out with guys smarter than them. How else do you explain them making those dumbasses do whatever they want." Lupin had a point.

"So that means she thinks I am more brilliant than her. Yeah… that's why she doesn't go out with me." James was ecstatic at this sudden discovery.

He looked over Lupin and said "Lupin you are a bloody genius. You should write a book on females-_The cryptic beings. _It would be a bestseller." He jumped off the bed and went to his room hopping, extremely happy with himself.

"I am a genius, I am bloody intelligent. I am better than LILY EVANS. Yoooohoooooo."

When James left for his dorm Lupin asked Sirius, "Do you reckon James likes her?"

"You kidding. All he does is prank on her. He can't possibly like her. Don't you remember last year when he said that she is the most annoying witch he has ever seen."

Lupin merely shrugged.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3…Lily's Secret**

"Hi Evans!" James hardly controlling his grin.

"Oh God! Why do I have to see his face early morning." Muttering to herself.

"Yes Potter." As politely as she could manage. She didn't want to spoil her morning by again quarreling with him.

"I Know your little secret." Now grinning ear to ear.

"_Secret… what secret… I mean which one does he know… does he know that I was not in bed but in Ralph's room last night… how can he possibly know that…he is not in Gryff.."_

"Evans!"

"Yeah…" she was shaken from her reverie.

"I was saying something. I said I know your secret. Care to ask me what I know." James was dying to tell her this on her face. He wanted to see her defeated face. Merlin it was going to be great.

"Fuck off Potter! I am seriously not interested in knowing any bullshit that you might know." She said making a face.

"That's cruel ma lady." He mocked being heart broken.

"Whatever." She started walking away from him

"Wait. I am not done yet." He ran after her and stood in front blocking her way.

"I know why you wouldn't go out with me." His face full of the impending triumph.

Lily stopped. This was going to be interesting she thought.

"And pray what is it?"

"You think I am cleverer than you. RIGHT!!!" He was grinning broadly.

"Wha-What!.. whoever said that to you." She could not believe him. Yes she did think that he was a silly little kid sometimes but this was the best he ever came up with. She started laughing like crazy.

James was hoping for a confession, an acknowledgement - not this. He had clearly not anticipated a blunt mockery of his intellect as he put it.

"What.. did you… say," Lily was talking between her hysterics, "I .. you.. cleverer… Merlin it's the funniest thing I have ever heard." She was still in her fits of laughter.

"So.. You don't believe anything of this sort." He asked sheepishly. The smile suddenly off his face replaced by a very scarlet Potter.

"I still can't believe you said this Potter. Well I certainly don't believe anything like this. Certainly not after today."

Though he was really mortified by what had happened, he could not help but appreciate the smile he had brought upon Lily's face. The way she laughed, the way she talked was absolutely amazing.

It was pure magic.

He came out of his reverie when he suddenly could not hear her laughter. She was gone. Somebody was going to face death today. MOONY!!!!

"What.. you actually went and said that to her!!" both Sirius and Lupin were laughing their heads off.

"Guys you are not helping. I am hurt here."

"But this is hilarious. This is the joke of the century." Said Sirius between his laughing spree.

When the laughter had died down James started, "Now what I do. She certainly thinks I am some sort of a crazy-head. Like she didn't believe this earlier, now she has a proof also."

"Listen James, you don't go telling this to girls mate. This was absolutely a mistake." Lupin said like a parent.

"Lets analyze what can be the consequences of your sudden outburst." Said Lupin. Sirius was still sniggering. James glared at him and he shut up.

"The most inevitable is that soon all the Hogwarts' girls- that includes the Slytherins also- will come to know about this, if they don't know till now. Gossip travels faster than light among the girls."

James sank in his chair. Now the whole school will make fun of him. He will no longer be the cool Marauder that he was. This was a tragedy. How could God let this happen. It was Merlin's fault actually. He should have sent some sort of message that said _James this is wrong. _But no. Cheating God.

"So the best you can do is to be normal as if nothing happened. Don't do anything stupid and talk normally to everybody including Lily. If you can manage all this then it won't be difficult to deal with the current situation you are in. I must say it is a really curious position."

James thought for a moment and then said, "Ok but has this ruined my chance with Lily forever, not that I care or something but just like that?" he asked with a fake smirk on his face. He didn't want his friends to know that he really cared for her. What if they made fun of him? What if they didn't understand?

"Hmmm… I don't think so. I mean… I think she likes you." Said Lupin after some thought.

James' heart started beating again. But he didn't make it very obvious for people to know. "That's impossible. She hates me I know." Trying hard not to sound very desperate.

"No she doesn't. I think she just needs you to grow up a little." It was Sirius this time. A rare stroke of brilliance I know.

"Do you really think so??"

"Yes of course. You always act like a small kid in front of her. You make her believe that you are asking her out as a mere whim. Make her believe that you mean it. I know you can." Said Lupin agreeing with Sirius for the first time.

"Ok. I'll try." James shrugged.

"And by the way we know that you really feel for her. No need hiding from friends."

James smiled, "Thanks for understanding." And they all hugged.

There Lily was having the time of her life. She told her friends and by friends she meant just Alice. She didn't share her secrets with anyone, not even with Ralph but with Alice. They were best friends since first year. Both Lily and Alice were heads over heels. Their laughter could be heard in the common room also where the Marauders were sitting trying to console James.

When they all came down for dinner, James could not meet Lily's eyes. It was for the first time ever that James was avoiding Lily. He was concentrating hard on the muffin on his plate so as to not look up. That day Lily deliberately sat across him. Any other day James would have believed that it was Lily's way of making him ask her out. But today he knew that the reason was _slightly different._

He eyed all the girls and wondered if they knew. He saw two girls looking at him and smiling. Merlin they knew, he thought. Lily you will pay for this. What was he saying? He could never dream of doing anything to her. Slowly he realized that the hall was behaving the usual way. Nothing _out-of-the-ordinary_ had happened. No one had tried to make fun of him, not even Lily. Everything was fine. He was the cool Marauder again.

He bent over and whispered, "Thanks Lily."

Lily blushed. Even she didn't know why. "What for?" Suddenly realizing he had called her Lily.

"For not spreading the word of my intelligence." He laughed at his own stupidity.

"My pleasure. But if you want then I can announce thy greatness here itself." She said mockingly.

"Na Na my lady. Some things should not be revealed to the ignorant world."

She laughed and left.

"God I love her" He sighed as he watched her leave, her ponytail swaying and her petite figure bouncing as she walked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4…where Lily turns him down**

"Oye Potter!" exclaimed Lily pushing herself forward through the crowd.

"Yup!" said James. He was walking with the Marauders through the corridor.

"Wait! Gotta talk to you about the HAWKs. We have a lot of planning to do. Its just three weeks away. Dumbledore needs the progress report after two days and we haven't done a thing." She said all of this in one breath.

"Relax Evans! Well I understand what you mean. So when do you wanna start with it?"

"Can we begin now itself? Let's go to the heads dorm. There won't be any disturbance there."

"Ok. Suits me."

"So what do you think the poster should be like?" asked Lily trying to think at the same time.

"Don't tell me we have to do Posters also. Why can't we give it to the Prefects?" Suggested James. Posters were not his thing, he thought.

"I think that's a good idea. Including the Prefects is a nice idea."

"Really! I mean yeah..." Amazed at his own stroke of brilliance.

"Let's have a meeting with the Prefects this evening."

"Ok. I'll announce it. Dungeons would be fine?"

"Yeah."

At the meeting

Lily was sitting in the front row and the Prefects were sitting three rows after Lily. James hadn't turned up yet. Lily was getting madder by every second. It was half past five, the meeting was supposed to start at five.

Finally Lily got up and said, "Well your Head Boy is-"

"Right Here! Sorry, kept you waiting love. Was caught up somewhere. So lets begin." Said James and sat very close to Lily much to her disgust but she didn't show it. She didn't want to create a scene in front of the juniors.

"As you all know of the HAWKs commencing soon," She began, "I want all you guys to contribute a little towards the different events that we can have and of course ideas for decoration. So suggest something."

A hand shot up.

"Yes, Ms. Heather you have to say something."

"Well we can have a Ball to mark the beginning of the whole HAWKs thingy. I mean a Ball for teachers and students alike. I mean everybody can come. But we can have an age limit here as well if you don't want it to be crowded." She finished.

"I think it's a great idea, Ms. Heather." It was James this time. He was eyeing that girl with some interest. She blushed. Lily glared at him for doing _unruly stuff_- as she put it later- in the meeting. James merely shrugged.

Then again a few hands rose. Eventually Lily had a list of 20 items in front of her. She put them to vote and selected just five.

James divided the decoration duties to the girls. He insisted on doing this part. And when Lily couldn't stand James flirting with every girl in the hall she dismissed the meeting.

"Hey, I wasn't finished yet. Ms. Lucas needs help in her thing." He looked mischievously at Lucas.

"I don't care. You get lost Potter. Now. The meeting is dismissed. And Ms. Lucas you come with me." She glared so hard at her that she gulped.

"And Potter after I am done with helping Lucas in her thing, meet me in the Head's dorm." She shouted.

"RIGHTO!!"

Lily let her anger subside and entered the Head's dorm. James was sitting on the couch.

"James I was thinking about the Ball."

James looked at her a little surprised. She had called him James. Though she didn't seem to realise it.

"What about it?"

"Well… somebody has to start it right…" she was looking confused, no not confused a little embarrassed. And then suddenly it dawned upon him. All the balls are started by the Heads. He was going to dance with Lily in front of everybody and she couldn't refuse it. He was delighted.

Studying his change of expression, Lily understood that he had understood. She did not expect any other reaction from him.

"So you don't want to dance with me it seems." he regained his composure sounding as casual as possible.

"Well actually, yes… I mean no… I mean Ralph doesn't like me talking to you and this dance can actually blow his top, if you know what I mean." she managed to say.

"Lily if your boyfriend is a ridiculously possessive jackass then I can't help it. You tell me, do you have any problems in sharing a dance with me, honestly. Leave that chipmunk aside for a moment." He held her arms and brought her close to him.

She protested a little but he didn't shake his grasp.

"Hmmm.. No…but I don't want to hurt him. I really love him you know… well how will you know, you have never loved." She looked straight in his eyes.

James wanted to retort at this comment but refrained from it. He didn't want to tell her about his feelings like this. Though he had proposed to her a zillion times till now but she always took that as a joke, a way to humiliate her. He wanted to make her like him first. To let her know the real James first. Only then she would understand what he actually felt. That he also could love somebody more than his life.

"Hello!!... James what are you thinking?"

"Nothing. If you don't want to dance with me then we can just start the ball and then you can go to him for the rest of the party." He said not looking enthusiastic about the ball anymore.

"I am really sorry James. I really am."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. But may I say something."

"Hmmm"

"You deserve someone better." And he left for his bedroom. Just a few moments earlier he was so happy that he would have Lily in his arms and now he didn't want to even think about it.

He went straight to his room and sat on the bed. A lot was going on in is mind. He was not angry at her, he could never be. But what she said hurt him. She had abused him a number of times on his face and most of the times she meant it but never had she remarked anything on his character. If she thought that some Ralph could love her more than he did then she didn't know him at all, not at all.

He would show her what she meant to him.

He would make her fall in love with him.

And with these thoughts he slept.

There Lily was feeling sorry for whatever she said to him. Even though it was true, she should not have said this. It was utterly cruel of her. She should have kept her mouth shut. After all he wasn't asking her out. In fact he looked a little hurt after she turned him down.

_Hurt!! Is it possible? Did he look hurt? No.. can't be.. he can't possibly have any real feelings for her. He asks me out just to annoy me right. There can't be any real feelings underneath right. Its just not possible. _

She started thinking about what he had said to her. Did she really deserve someone better? Wasn't Ralph the best thing to have happened to her in Hogwarts? Of course Ralph was the best for her. He was there when no one was. He really loved her.

James was just mad. How couldn't he see that?

_But why am I getting anxious like this? I love Ralph... I do... I know I do…. Do I?_

She slept off wondering all this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Nightmares **

The sun was up, shining brightly over Lily's window. It was a Saturday meaning no school, no classes, no need to get up early except for the breakfast. If only food could be magicked out of thin air but as they say life isn't always a bed of roses.

Lily reluctantly got up from bed and got ready. What was the point of a Saturday when not having to get up early was just not an option, she thought. While going downstairs she peeped into James' room. He was still asleep maybe dreaming about her.

_What was that…I am going crazy.. I could really do well with some sleep.. I am not thinking right…_

Dining hall was busy as usual. She saw Ralph and sat besides him. He kissed her on the cheeks.

"Good morning love,", he said, "How was your night?"

"Well, no Alice to shriek at the middle of the night hearing even the slightest flutter outside the window and no tension of getting up early to stand in the bathroom queue,.. hmmm…. I guess fine only.." she laughed, "how did u sleep?"

"Well no Lily to snuggle into…hmmm… I guess bad.." he pouted. Lily gave him a light kiss on the lips and started eating.

"O.K…. ermm…. Ralph, I wanted to ask you something." She said.

"Hmmm…". He said between eating.

"Would you mind if I started the Ball with James. He is the Head Boy you know. So it's a tradition. I just need to start the Ball with him." She asked reluctantly, testing the waters. "After that I'm all yours." She added flirtatiously.

He didn't say anything for a while. Lily tried to read his expression but his face was blank.

"Alright, if you must." He didn't sound very pleased with the idea of that Potter boy come as close as within 1 meter of the distance with Lily. "But do not come any closer to him than necessary and if he tries to do anything I myself will jinx him to oblivion."

"Roger Boss." They both laughed.

Gryffindor went to the Potions class. Today they had double potions with Slytherin.

"Oh ! Double potions with those slithery snakes." Sirius grimaced. "I so wish to crucio all those spineless cowards to death one day."

"Be careful with what you wish padfoot. Your brother is also is that very house." Said James.

"yeah yeah I know. Mommy's pet, best son adhering to all the ridiculous pureblood Black traditions. Fucking coward." Sirius was seriously not in a very good mood today and the double potions with Slytherin was just adding to the fire.

"Why do we have to study potions", Alice was also not a fan of potions.

"C'mmon Al potions are fun and Professor Slughorn is an amazing teacher. There is nothing not to like about potions." Said Lily. She wasn't Professor SlugHorn's favorite student for no reason.

"Ok class, now keep quiet." Prof had entered the class. "Welcome kids. It's a very good day today to start with a very tricky potion and also it very crucial from the Newt's point of view." There was a fairly audible sigh from the students.

"Who can tell me what _advaitum_ does?"

As usual one hand rose up in the air. Alice rolled her eyes. "Can't u keep it down for once." She scowled.

"Don't u want the points Al." asked Lily. She knew Alice would never say no.

"Ok ok go on. But remember I hate you."

"Well Ms. Evans. No surprises there". He was smiling. He really liked her for her natural instinct towards potions. She was a very gifted witch. Inspite of being a muggle-born she was at the top of his class.

"_Advaitum _is a very strong potion used for enhancing the mental prowess. But it's very tricky to brew. Can get fatal if not made properly and excessive use can lead to madness." She said this all in a single breath.

"Very right indeed. 10 points to Gryffindor." Slughorn shouted getting a few grimaces from the Slytherins. "So, today we will learn to brew _advaitum_. The ingredients are in the cupboard. So make pairs all of you."

Lily paired up with Remus, Alice with Frank and James with Sirius.

"How was your summer Lily." Asked Lupin while grinding the almonds.

"It was alright. Missed school but. And then I have an angel of a sister who daily wishes me curses. So you know I really 'enjoyed' at home." Replied Lily. "How was yours?"

"Well ok only nothing very exciting except for the week that I spent with these guys at James' place."

Her pulse raced a little at the mention of his name.

_Whats wrong with me…_

"Sorry what?" asked Lupin at the sudden change of Lily's expression.

"Oh nothing." She started stirring the liquid in the cauldron. It was visibly blue now.

"What do u reckon Moony is talking to Evans about." Asked James. His eyes not once leaving the two. And poor Sirius was practically doing the potion assignment alone.

"Prongs if you brew this potion correctly and then take it yourself I think you yourself will figure it out. Now concentrate on the knife that you have in hand. Look at everyone else. They have blue flames and we have no potion in the cauldron yet." Sirius was very irritated. This sudden Lily mania of Potter was not doing him any good.

The class finally ended and the students submitted their potions to the professor. Lily-Remus got an 'O' and Potter-Black got an 'A', very respectable from both their standards.

James rushed towards Remus and asked him, "So you talked to her about me."

"No. Was I supposed to?"

"Oh Cmmon Remus this is perfect. You have a great opportunity to lay some groundwork for me you know." He almost pleaded.

"Well incase you haven't noticed James I get to have only two hours with her in one whole week to lay some ground work and you guys almost stay together. So don't you think that you can do this much better yourself."

"But she hates me. She doesn't even want to start the Hawks ball with me."

"Well I don't think I can help Prongs because she is a very smart witch and she very easily sense it if I tend to do anything of this sort. But if it makes you feel any better she was visibly pleased to hear your name when I accidentally mentioned it while talking to her." He smiled.

James was on cloud nine after hearing this. So she doesn't hate me after all.

Nothing much happened throughout the day. And everyone went to sleep.

_It was dark and someone was calling her name. Someone was crying. Lily got up and started walking towards the sound. It was calling her name. She kept on walking till she reached the end of the corridor. There at a distance was a faint light coming from a window. She came out of the house and started walking towards the light. The cries were getting softer now and no one was calling her name but it was calling something else now. She kept on walking till she reached a door. She clicked it open and entered the little hut. It was shimmering in the faint blue light coming from a cradle a distance. Lily walked over to the cradle. The baby was quiet now. Lily looked at the kid. It was sleeping like an angel. She wondered whose kid was this. It was emanating a glow like none other. It was the most divine baby she had ever seen. She picked it up. The baby opened its eyes. They were the most beautiful pools of green she had ever seen with the blackest hair falling all over the place. It was smiling._

_Then suddenly everything went dark and someone snatched the kid from her arms. It started crying. Lily struggled but could not fight that force. She was falling and falling ….and then something grabbed her._

"Lily! Lily. Calm down. It's alright. Everything is alright. Relax." James was sitting by her side trying to calm her down. He heard screams coming from her room calling out "leave him, leave him". He rushed to her room to find her screaming in her dream.

"They took him away, they took him away. "she was still crying.

"Relax Lily. No one is here. You are in Hogwarts in your room. No one can hurt you here. Just calm down." He was trying his best but apparently it wasn't enough.

"I want to see Ralph." She said between her sobs. She was visibly shaken.

Although James didn't want to do it, he called Ralph. Ralph spent the night with Lily calming her down. And there was James getting a sleepless night imagining all the sorts of things that they might be doing.

Morning came. Lily came out of the room to go to the bathroom. James was already sitting on the couch in the common room completely dressed up. He hadn't slept all night.

"Where's Ralph?" he tried to act totally nonchalant.

"He left sometime back." She said. Somehow she was feeling uncomfortable with what happened yesterday. She was feeling uncomfortable with the fact that Potter saw her in that condition, totally defenseless and weak. Moreover she feared if he knew anything about the dream that she had. She had not told anyone of the dream yet. Not even Ralph. It was the most vivid dream ever. It felt so real and so personal. She didn't know what to make of it.

"Hey Evans, can I ask you something?"

'oh no, not about last night, not about last night.' She was praying in her head.

"What happened last night? I mean what was that they were taking away and who were 'they'? You were deeply scared you know."

'Ah there you go.' She thought.

"Well it was just a horrid nightmare. Nothing more. Don't think much about it. "she waved it off.

"Ok if that's what it is. You take care. Bbye." He went to have breakfast. He ruffled his hair as usual and this caught Lily's attention. She couldn't help but wonder at the uncanny resemblance of his hair to the kid's in her dream. _It couldn't be…._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 WHATS ON YOUR MIND**

"What do we have now?" mumbled Lily.

"Defence Against Dark Arts." Replied James from behind.

'aah!' muttered Lily under her breath.

She was trying to avoid James all morning and with a considerable amount of success also. But he was difficult to dodge. Somehow she could not face him. Whenever she looked at him she saw the same concern, the same restlessness and the same _i-know-it-wasn't-nothing_ look on his face. How could she tell him what happened the other night. She didn't even know anything for sure herself. She herself wanted to believe that it was nothing but a nightmare. But she knew better. And how could she explain the hair. She was too embarrassed in her own mind to say it loud out. Somehow saying out loud made everything seem so much more real and she didn't want this to be true.

'Why isn't she telling me what happened! It was not just a nightmare I know. And she must have told that Ralph everything. Why not me! After all I found her in that horrified state. Don't I deserve some explanation? If not an explanation some hint at least. Why is she brushing me away like this!' James was struggling in his mind.

They all entered the class.

'At least now he won't disturb me.' Thought Lily. But James came and sat behind her. And Lily could feel his eyes boring holes through her neck all period.

"Ok class lets begin with your new lesson. Today we will study the art of leglimency and the defense against it that is occlumency. It's a very advanced and difficult field of magic and of course highly important from the NEWT's point of view." Said Professor Logan. He was a very good looking and charming man with nice manners and an easy flowing attitude that made him a huge hit among the girls.

"Well, the basic theory for leglimency is to concentrate on the opponent and try to extract his memories. Don't expect to read the thoughts from the other person's mind. What you will come across would be flashes of life incidents and you will need to make sense out of them. And about occlumency all you need to do is empty your mind. Do not think about anything. Leave your mind blank. Ok then, let's begin. Make pairs and take turns with the attack and defense." He continued.

James rushed to Lily to make pairs with her. He was desperate to know what was going on in her mind and this was a perfect opportunity.

Lily groaned seeing him standing in front of her, but she had no choice but to do this with him. Everyone else was taken.

"I'll attack first" said Lily.

"leglimens_" _

_There was the Gryffindor Common room. James and Sirius were sitting together. Must be their fourth year._

"_What the heck prongs. Stop asking her out. Its making u look uncool and very very unavailable. Not an image you want to keep up mate!" said Sirius with a wink._

"_Oh shut up! You know I don't like her. Its just the thrill of the chase baby, thrill of the chase." Replied James smiling mischievously_

Though Lily always believed this but this blunt statement of James about just not liking her came as a shock. She was even hurt.

The scene dissolved.

_Now they were in the dining hall and James was writing something on a piece or parchment. _

_Lily Potter, no Lily Evans Potter, no Mrs. Potter. He looked at Lily sitting across the table, saw the I-will-hate-you-forever look on her face and tore away the sheet._

Lily was surprised in a very pleasant way, a fact she would never admit even to herself.

_Now they were in the forbidden forest. A dog was running in front of them. He was struggling with a werewolf. A voice came from behind, "Padfoot"._

"NO NOT THIS" and James fell to the ground. He tried so hard to repel her spell that he fell. He didn't want her to see this. He didn't want anyone to know this. After all it wasn't his secret to tell. He didn't want her to see any of this. Well ok she could see the Mrs. Potter thing but nothing else.

Lily was extremely intrigued by the last memory. She didn't know what was happening. What was he doing in the forbidden forest with a dog and a werewolf? And the name padfoot did ring a bell. Where had she heard that before? She knew she had, a lot of times too. It just didn't strike her when or where. She knew she wouldn't rest until she found out.

Now it was James' turn.

Lily was very apprehensive. The harder she tried not to think of the dream, the more detailed a version would float in her mind.

"leglimens." cried James.

There was a cradle. It was shimmering in a faint light. It had the most beautiful baby in the world. Then he saw her struggling to keep the baby from some force snatching it away from her. He saw her crying. She was terrified. She was shouting for help. Tears welled in her eyes. She was helpless. She was alone. James wanted to help her. To let her know that she wasn't alone. Just be with her always.

He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't see her crying like that. It broke his heart. He lifted the spell.

Though Lily was very grateful for this but she was very surprised again. Somehow James was full of shocks n surprises today. But he knew about the dream. She suddenly felt so exposed, so naked.

After the class got over none of the students had mastered the art of leglimency with a few exceptions and none of them had successfully blocked anyone without any exceptions. Prof. Logan gave them a foot long essay on Leglimency and Occlumency.

All of them dispersed.

James hurried out of the class. He didn't want to face anyone. He couldn't. The look on Lily's face clearly meant that she knew that he knew about the dream and that she knew about the forbidden forest as well or just parts of it. He could see it in her eyes how much she wanted to know about it. And he just couldn't tell her so better not deal with her right now. And he didn't want to face his fellow marauders also. One glance at him and they would know something is wrong and he couldn't tell them about Lily's dream. He didn't even know much about it himself. There was nothing in the dream that made Lily get so scared. It looked just like a normal nightmare. Maybe it was. Maybe she was saying the truth in the morning. But James knew in his hearts of hearts that there was something that he didn't know, something that he missed because Lily doesn't get scared that easily.

He went straight to his room. And lied down on the bed thinking. He never realized when he fell asleep.

After what seemed like ages Lily knocked on his door. He got up with a start and opened the door.

His hair were disheveled and he was shirtless displaying the complete torso carved by quidditch. He was breathtaking.

Lily stood there tongue-tied for half a minute admiring the Greek God like beauty in front of her.

"Lily" said James smiling to himself. He knew that he looked good but Lily admiring it was a first and he was suddenly very proud of the fact that he had this affect on her too. All the thoughts about the dream flew away from his mind.

Lily found her voice finally and asked him to discuss something about HAWKs. She was blushing from the tip of her hair to her toe getting more and more embarrassed by the minute.

He nodded and came out wearing a shirt much to her dismay.

"Well I was thinking that we should start putting the pamphlets and posters for the HAWKs you know, just to make sure everyone knows that its happening at the end of the semester n they should start preparing and forming teams." Lily said this all in one breath that she didn't know she was holding.

James was listening to her with a smirk never leaving his face. For once he realized that he might actually have a chance with Evans. He was overly pleased with himself.

"Potter.. Potter.."

"Ahem.. yeah I think you are right. You are always right love. Why do you even ask me. "

"Yeah whatever! I have to go… errrmmm…change. Bbye". She left leaving a very smiling James behind.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Evans I was thinking a lot last night about the whole HAWKs thing. And I realized that whatever we have in mind, I don't think we have funds enough for it you know." Said James looking at Lily.

Lily was having the same thoughts sometime back but she brushed them off thinking that they were stupid .How could Hogwarts ever be short of funds! But now that James had voiced his concerns too, it made the whole money situation far more critical. Even Hogwarts like any other school had a fixed amount of money kept for fests like these. And what James and Lily were planning was on a scale a shade too large for the school budget.

"So what do u think we should do?" asked Lily.

"I dunno. We could ask Dumbledore." He proposed.

"Or we could ask for sponsorships u know." Said a suddenly very brightened up Lily. Somehow the idea of going around for sponsorships appealed to her a lot.

"Excuse me! What ship??"

"Sponsorship Mr. James Artemus Potter."

"And what the heck is that?"

"Well its an arrangement where we promise some advertising to some company or stuff taking the responsibility of funding an event. So now we will have to go to different firms and shops and ask them to fund our fest in return for the advertising we would do for them in our fest. "

"Has this sponsi thingi ever worked Miss Lily Aretha Evans??" smirking at this utterly ridiculous idea.

"Well yes it does, Thank you very much. It works all the time. That's how most of the huge events take place in our world ok. Got it potter!"

"Well yeah kind of." He still wasn't convinced if this could be done. Why would anyone in their right minds want to part with their money for some stupid publicity was beyond him.

'_Muggles are crazy._' He thought but he could never disagree with Lily. So he played along. Who knows it might even work!

"So now how do we go about it?" said James trying to sound less unsure this time.

"well…. We need to form teams first. Or maybe we should go together first. Get the idea and then form teams u know. So that even they know what exactly is to be done."

"Vokhay! Lead the way.."

"Lets go to Zonko's first. He anyways loves you guys. He might be of some help. So watsay? Today evening?"

"Evening it is!"

They both got dressed and started for Zonko's. Zonko's was a local joke shop. Marauders were his favorite customers. The stuff that they bought and the ideas that they gave him were amazing.

Lily was wearing a white formal shirt and a short blue jacket over it and skin fit jeans.

'_White shirt….. Nice_.' , thought James.

James had a thing for girls in white shirts and when the love of his life was wearing something like that things could become a little more out of hands. He tried to stay composed yet all he could think of was the white shirt and the girl inside it.

They reached Zonko's. Lily rehearsed all she had prepared to tell him in her mind and reached for the door.

"Wait.. what are u doing?" exclaimed James.

"Going in!!" Lily scowled.

"You want to ruin everything before we have even started or what!"

"What the hell do u mean?"

"He hates you! Cmon! You keep confiscating his stuff. You have put up notices in the school not to buy his stuff. You think he doesn't know that!"

"Ok then You Go. Lets see what you can do." Lily challenged him.

"You will see." James accepted the challenge.

James entered the shop in style. He met the zonko's guy and chatted with him for a while.

"that's a really cool piece man." Said James pointing at the invisible boils powder box.

"I know. Just got it two days back. If thrown on anyone, it shows horrible boils on his face to everyone but himself." Chuckled the man. "Should I pack one for you?"

"Na. Can't buy it like that. Head Boy now u know." James tried to show his disappointment not to be able to buy it.

The guy's expectant smile faded.

"But I have an idea. You know there is this Fest going on in our school, HAWKs. Its gonna be huge with the whole school participating and all. You can put up a stall u know. And its going to be total Legit. There u can sell all you want, even to the first and second years. They aren't allowed to come to hogsmeade na."

Zonko's eyes widened.

"ok tell me more." He said

"Well I can't just let u put up a stall there u know. I mean it's not my property. It's the school's thing. But I think if u can give us some money we could rent some area to you for a few days." Explained James.

The zonko's guy wasn't very pleased with this idea. He started weighing his options.

"hey you have got nothing to lose. I assure you an amazing sell out. Plus I wanted to buy stuff too for so long and guess what even the head girl is on our side." James tried to persuade him.

He finally agreed and decided to pay them 250 galleons for a four day stall.

'_its been forever.. god only knows whats he doing inside.._' thought Lily.

Just then Potter came out all smiling and triumphant.

"So.. Whos your daddy!" yelled James.

"so how much?" Lily asked directly not wanting to waste much time in Potter's unnecessary blabber.

"250 galleons My princess." Replied James, the smile not once leaving his face.

"Well that's great. That's an amazing start. Let's go to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

"anywhere u wish Lady." Said James in a mock bow.

They came back. The next few days went in asking for more sponsorship money. They got some, they failed in some. The most amazing thing happened when the shopkeeper actually started chasing Lily for buying his ice cream. Lily would have obliged if the ice cream didn't taste like feet.

They had huge amount of fun.

'_Potter is not that bad a company after all_' thought Lily.

"What are u thinking Evans?" asked James.

"huh.. nothing.." started Lily.

"well I dunno your face had that look you know when u are thinking about someone who is sitting right in front of you. Lets call it the _James look._" Supplied James.

"Oh Sod off Potter. I donot have a James look."

"Oh you do. Your face becomes all dreamy whenever you look at this greek god beauty." James said pointing to himself.

"In your dreams Potter." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well in your dreams too my love."

"James Potter you are an insufferable, egoistical, big-headed prat that I have ever had the misfortune of knowing. I would be happy to date the giant squid than ever think about you." She yelled and walked off.

"whatever you say lily." he muttered.


End file.
